The Women’s Cricket World Cup started Thursday in Mumbai, at a different venue than initially planned and with half of the teams 1,700 kilometers away on the other side of the country.

For the past six weeks the media has been dominated by discussion over how badly women in India are treated. This is as good a time as any to be showcasing the feats of the country’s women to the world and supporting them.

The tournament opened with host India taking on the West Indies at Brabourne Stadium, a picturesque and historic venue in Churchgate, in the heart of Mumbai. But it wasn’t meant to be like this. The opening match and several others were initially to be held at the city’s Wankhede Stadium, which is roughly twice the size of Brabourne and the stage where the Indian men’s team clinched the World Cup for the first time on home soil, in 2011.

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But the plan was scrapped because the Mumbai Cricket Association wanted the 40,000 or so capacity Wankhede available for Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy final, even though that was set to finish Wednesday. As it happened, the final was over by Monday evening as Mumbai beat Saurashtra within three days. The ground will now be used for the Z.R. Irani Cup from Feb. 6 to 10, when the Ranji Trophy winners take on a Rest of India XI.

Another rescheduling has meant that all of the Group B matches and some second-round ties have been shifted across the country to Cuttack in Orissa state. Originally, the entire tournament was supposed to be held in Mumbai.

“When a global tournament can be rescheduled to accommodate a domestic one, it tells much of priorities and lofty disdain,” wrote cricket correspondent Mike Selvey of The Guardian.

Like it or not, a match between a Rest of India XI captained by Virender Sehwag and a Mumbai team starring the country’s favorite son, Sachin Tendulkar, is going to be a bigger crowd puller than any Women’s World Cup game. Indeed, Tendulkar could attract a bigger crowd than the eight teams at this World Cup combined just by walking to the shops. Sehwag, too.

Every cricketer wants to play in the world’s biggest stadiums but only if that means playing in front of a full house. You want to hear the roar of the crowd, not the wind rushing between empty seats and the hum of traffic outside. Brabourne is a better setting for this tournament opener as it will feel less empty than Wankhede.

This isn’t just a problem for women’s cricket. People often describe India as a cricket-mad nation, but it’s only properly mad when it comes to the Indian men’s team. How else would you explain the thousands of empty seats when South Africa played England or the West Indies during the 2011 World Cup? These are top teams with some of the most exciting cricketers on the planet, yet when I saw them play – in Chennai and the capital Delhi, no less – the grounds were no more than a quarter full. Cricket mad? Pfah!

So don’t be surprised if there are empty seats at Brabourne or the other Women’s World Cup venues in Mumbai and Cuttack. Indian fans love their heroes, but they simply don’t know about their women cricketers. It’s the same in other countries. Women in male-dominated sports like cricket, soccer and rugby might as well live on other planets to their rich and famous male counterparts.

In a highly critical interview with ESPN Cricinfo this week, India’s former captain Diana Edulji, who called the decision to shift from Wankhede “an absolute disgrace,” said skipper Mithali Raj had little chance of being recognized in public.

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Mithali Raj posed after a match between India and England at Lord’s Cricket Ground, London, July 1, 2012.

Given the lack of privacy afforded to India’s male cricket stars, this could be a blessing. But it would be nice to at least have some awareness. It’s safe to say more than 90% of Indians have heard of Sachin Tendulkar but significantly less than 1% knows of Mithali Raj. If India’s male cricketers are the rock stars, the women are the solo artists playing to empty rooms.

This World Cup is a chance to change that, even slightly. India is crying out for female heroes, now more than ever, and the women’s cricket team deserves to be properly acknowledged.

Almost everywhere you look in India, there are children playing cricket on patches of grass or dusty playgrounds. How many times have you seen a girl taking part? I can’t think of any. It’s always boys or young men. The girls are nowhere to be seen.

In advertisements on television and roadside billboards, you’ll see male actors and cricketers posing handsomely and heroically. The likes of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Hrithik Roshan and Salman Khan manfully thrust forward products, do motorbike stunts or jump out of airplanes. Meanwhile glamorous actresses like Bipasha Basu, Chitrangada Singh and Deepika Padukone are left to flutter their eyelashes while talking health drinks and cosmetics.

I can’t be alone in wanting to see Mithali Raj advertising cricket bats and power drinks. Heck, even cement – that’s what all the male cricketers seem to endorse. Anything that raises the profile of the game and empowers India’s female population should be welcomed and encouraged.

This World Cup is a great opportunity to show that India does care about women. Sure, women’s cricket is a tiny niche in the grand picture, but it’s a niche that should be supported. If you’re in Mumbai or Cuttack over the next couple of weeks, then you have a chance to do just that.

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